I am a printmaker, combining monoprint, drypoint, stencils and collage to make both two and three dimensional works on and with paper and fabric. Elements are arranged on an inked plexi glass plate and run through a press. During the art making process there are three components that I try to balance and connect; the aesthetic, the technical and the conceptual. In addition to these elements there is a collaboration with the press. There is always an element of surprise with the monoprint process, due to its indirect nature. I am most intrigued with texture and layering imagery to reveal or obscure certain areas of the composition.

Coming from a background in sculpture, manipulating materials to be used as stencils or plates in my experimental prints has been a natural extension to my art making exploration. In âFree Fallingâ, I have used my body as the matrix in creating my printing plate. After wrapping myself in plastic and rolling in glue, I laid down on a piece of foam core. This produced a body print that was then sprinkled with carborundum (a fine sandlike grit). I love the physicality of the process and the clumsy collaboration with my body and the resulting form. Brushing the finished print in oil gives the paper a transparency for viewing on both sides. Coating the paper used to cover the boat armature with wax and crumbling/smoothing adds another dimension of texture.

âFree Fallingâ is part of a series exploring the possible competing forces of independence and safety. There is a vulnerability weaved together with a desire to soar and a fear of the unknown.

I am interested in making connections between disparate cultures. Using the Yiddish language, literature, and folklore as a springboard, I have found commonalities between Eastern European Jews, Ancient Egyptians and Chinese Healers. From the first handprints, to alphabet and language, ideas about death and higher powers, healing the body, and games and rituals, civilizations that had no communication with each other, came up with similar explorations and solutions to life’s challenges.

My most recent work, "Cosmic Inclusion" is an installation consisting of thirty-two 39"h x 20"w monoprints (with collage, drypoint, stitching), attached to hinged panels 92" high by 24’ long, although by changing the configuration the dimensions can vary. The idea of this format is to give the impression of a giant accordion book. I am using the figure as a conduit, with energy passing through from heaven to earth and threading through from culture to culture. The figure, an adaptation from the acupuncture chart, is used as a universal symbol of (wo)mankind.

These large prints (40" x 80" range) combine the figures from "Cosmic Inclusion" with the flight of the birds. The golem is often represented as a heavy figure made of clay. Here it represents an unrealized dream of flight. Some of the images include writing from Di Vinci's notebook. "Tether" with rocks attached to the wrists and feet show the impossibility of upward movement.

I use clothing as a metaphor for the body. A slip represents vulnerability while a coat signifies shelter. This work deals with healing: healing the world and healing the body. "The Crossroads" and "The Balance" are from my "Rock, Paper, Scissors Series". Since adult attempts toward peace aren’t working, this children’s game for resolving conflicts seemed like a possible alternative. "Cupping #1", "Cupping #3", and "X-ray" have to do with healing the body. In these prints, I am also concerned with making connections between disparate cultures; in this case, the Chinese and Eastern European Jews. Who knew?

These garments, printed on muslin and canvas, are constructed versions of my 2-D prints. Combining the garment metaphor as shelter or safety with the imagery of birds to represent freedom, I am exploring an interest in the power of oppositional forces.

Birds have captivated our imagination since the beginning of time. Depicted in petroglyphs, on ancient coins, and in hieroglyphics, they have woven their magic into the folklore and superstitions of every culture.

The birds in "Glikl 1 & 2" refer to a Yiddish poem found in the writings of Glikl of Hamlen. This poem was translated by Michael Wex and written into a song by Adrienne Cooper. "Crane Dance" and "Stork and Crane" connects to our story telling/ nursery rhyming relationship with birds.